Camera holding structure

ABSTRACT

A camera holding structure for holding a vehicle-mounted camera includes: a window separating a vehicle interior space from a vehicle exterior space; and a holding member fixed to an inner surface of the window and holding the vehicle-mounted camera. The holding member includes a fixing frame that is fixed to the inner surface of the window and a hood that protrudes from the fixing frame toward an inside of a vehicle and defines a field-of-view space of the vehicle-mounted camera on a vehicle inner side of the window. The fixing frame has an opposing surface that opposes the inner surface of the window and is attached to the inner surface of the window, the opposing surface being provided with at least one marking part that is visible from outside the vehicle.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a camera holding structure for holdinga vehicle-mounted camera.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, a camera holding structure for holding a vehicle-mountedcamera is known. For example, the camera holding structure includes awindow separating a vehicle interior space from a vehicle exterior spaceand a holding member fixed to the inner surface of the window andholding the vehicle-mounted camera.

For example, JP2020-98282A discloses a camera bracket that fixes anexternal environment detection camera to the inner surface of the frontwindow glass.

In a case where the holding member as described above is attached to aninner surface of the window by means of an adhesive or the like, if theattachment position of the holding member on the inner surface of thewindow deviates from the target position, the positional accuracy of theholding member relative to the window decreases, and the positionalaccuracy of the vehicle-mounted camera held by the holding member alsomay decrease.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing background, a primary object of the presentinvention is to provide a camera holding structure which can facilitateaccurately attaching the holding member on the inner surface of thewindow at the target position.

To achieve the above object, one aspect of the present inventionprovides a camera holding structure (17) for holding a vehicle-mountedcamera (11), comprising: a window (6) separating a vehicle interiorspace (SP1) from a vehicle exterior space (SP2); and a holding member(16) fixed to an inner surface (6A) of the window and holding thevehicle-mounted camera, wherein the holding member includes a fixingframe (19) that is fixed to the inner surface of the window and a hood(20) that protrudes from the fixing frame toward an inside of a vehicleand defines a field-of-view space (S) of the vehicle-mounted camera on avehicle inner side of the window, and the fixing frame has an opposingsurface (41) that opposes the inner surface of the window and isattached to the inner surface of the window, the opposing surface beingprovided with at least one marking part (47, 51, 61, 71) that is visiblefrom outside the vehicle.

According to this aspect, it is possible to attach the opposing surfaceof the fixing frame of the holding member to the inner surface of thewindow while visually checking the position of the marking part, andtherefore, it is possible to prevent the attachment position of theholding member on the inner surface of the window from deviating fromthe target position. Accordingly, it is possible to improve thepositional accuracy of the holding member and the vehicle-mounted camerarelative to the window.

Preferably, the field-of-view space is provided on a rear side of thewindow, the hood includes left and right side wall portions (26)respectively defining left and right side portions of the field-of-viewspace and a bottom wall portion (27) connecting lower end portions ofthe left and right side wall portions and defining a lower portion ofthe field-of-view space, an upper surface of the bottom wall portion isprovided with a stray light suppressing structure (30) for suppressingstray light entering the vehicle-mounted camera, the stray lightsuppressing structure having multiple ridges (31) arranged in afront-rear direction and extending in a left-right direction, and the atleast one marking part extends in the left-right direction at a positionon a lower front side of the multiple ridges.

According to this aspect, uniformity of design of the stray lightsuppressing structure and the opposing surface can be enhanced, wherebythe appearance of the vehicle can be improved.

Preferably, the at least one marking part includes multiple markingparts arranged at intervals in a direction perpendicular to theleft-right direction, and a pitch of the multiple marking parts is sameas a pitch of the multiple ridges.

According to this aspect, uniformity of design of the stray lightsuppressing structure and the opposing surface can be further enhanced,whereby the appearance of the vehicle can be further improved.

Preferably, the window includes a base material layer (8) havingtransparency and a light shielding layer (9) superposed on a part of thebase material layer and having transparency lower than that of the basematerial layer, the light shielding layer being provided with an opening(10) for allowing light entering the field-of-view space to passtherethrough, the opposing surface includes a covered part (43) coveredby the light shielding layer as seen from outside the vehicle and anexposed part (44) provided in a position corresponding to the openingand exposed from the light shielding layer as seen from outside thevehicle, and at least a part of the at least one marking part isprovided on the exposed part.

According to this aspect, it is possible to attach the opposing surfaceto the inner surface of the window while visually checking the positionof the marking part relative to the opening of the light shieldinglayer. Therefore, it is possible to more effectively prevent theattachment position of the holding member on the inner surface of thewindow from deviating from the target position.

Preferably, the exposed part extends in a left-right direction from aleft edge to a right edge of the opening, and the at least one markingpart is continuous from a left end to a right end of the exposed part.

According to this aspect, the length of the marking part can be securedsufficiently, and therefore, it is easy to visually check the positionof the marking part.

In one embodiment, the at least one marking part may include a recess(47, 51) provided on the opposing surface.

According to this aspect, when the holding member undergoes thermalexpansion, the recess can absorb the stress due to the thermal expansionof the holding member. Therefore, it is possible to prevent reduction inthe attachment strength between the opposing surface and the innersurface of the window due to thermal expansion of the holding member.

In another embodiment, the at least one marking part may include aprojection (61) provided on the opposing surface.

According to this aspect, the projection reinforces the fixing frame,thereby enhancing the stiffness of the fixing frame. Therefore, it ispossible to suppress deformation of the fixing frame.

In another embodiment, the at least one marking part may include apainted part (71) that is painted with a color different from a color ofthe opposing surface.

According to this aspect, it is possible to form the marking partwithout providing irregularities on the opposing surface itself.Therefore, it is possible to avoid complication of the structure of theholding member due to formation of the marking part.

Preferably, the opposing surface is attached to the inner surface of thewindow via an adhesive having transparency.

According to this aspect, even when the adhesive is provided in aposition overlapping with the marking part, it is possible tosufficiently see the position of the marking part from outside thevehicle via the adhesive.

Thus, according to an aspect of the present invention, a camera holdingstructure which can facilitate accurately attaching the holding memberon the inner surface of the window at the target position can beprovided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a front portion of a vehicle according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a bracket and its surrounding partaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the bracket and its surroundingpart according to the embodiment as seen from vehicle outside;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a bracket and its surrounding partaccording to a first modification of the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a bracket and its surrounding partaccording to a second modification of the embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a bracket and its surrounding partaccording to a third modification of the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Vehicle 1

In the following, a vehicle 1 according to one embodiment of the presentinvention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 . An arrow Frincluded in each drawing indicated the forward direction of the vehicle1.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the vehicle 1 is a four-wheeled automobile. Thevehicle 1 includes a vehicle body 2 elongated in the front-reardirection. A vehicle interior space SP1 is defined inside the vehiclebody 2, and multiple seats 4 are provided in a central part of thevehicle interior space SP1 in the front-rear direction.

In a front portion of the vehicle 1, a front window 6 (an example of awindow) is provided in front of the multiple seats 4. The front window 6separates a vehicle interior space SP1 from a vehicle exterior space SP2(in the present embodiment, the space in front of the vehicle 1). Thefront window 6 is inclined rearward toward the above.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the front window 6 includes a base materiallayer 8 and a light shielding layer 9 superposed on a center part of anupper portion of the base material layer 8 from inside the vehicle. Thebase material layer 8 is made of glass and has transparency. Note thatin another embodiment, the base material layer 8 may be made of amaterial with transparency other than glass (for example, a resin withtransparency). The light shielding layer 9 is made of black ceramicprinted on the inner surface of the base material layer 8 and does nothave transparency. Note that in another embodiment, the light shieldinglayer 9 may be made of a material with transparency lower than that ofthe base material layer 8, other than black ceramic. A central part ofthe light shielding layer 9 is provided with an opening 10 having asubstantially trapezoidal shape.

A front camera 11 (an example of a vehicle-mounted camera) is providedbehind an upper portion of the front window 6. The front camera 11 is adevice to capture images of the vehicle exterior space SP2 from thevehicle interior space SP1 via the front window 6. For example, thefront camera 11 is a digital camera using a solid imaging element suchas a CCD or a CMOS. The front camera 11 is connected to a control device12 (see FIG. 1 ). The control device 12 is configured to executeadvanced driver assistance control (for example, lane keeping controland preceding vehicle following control) of the vehicle 1 based on theimage data transmitted from the front camera 11. Referring to FIG. 2 ,the front camera 11 includes a lens 13 that converges the light incidentthereon from the front and a camera main body 14 that holds the lens 13.A lower portion of the camera main body 14 extends more forward than anupper portion of the camera main body 14.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , a bracket 16 (an example of a holdingmember) for holding the front camera 11 is fixed to an inner surface ofthe base material layer 8 and the light shielding layer 9 of the frontwindow 6 (hereinafter referred to as “the inner surface 6A of the frontwindow 6”). The bracket 16 constitutes a camera holding structure 17 incooperation with the front window 6.

The bracket 16 includes a fixing frame 19 that is fixed to the innersurface 6A of the front window 6 and a hood 20 that protrudes from thefixing frame 19 toward a rear lower side (inside of the vehicle).

The fixing frame 19 of the bracket 16 is disposed along the innersurface 6A of the front window 6 and is attached to the inner surface 6Aof the front window 6. Note that an attachment structure for attachingthe fixing frame 19 to the inner surface 6A of the front window 6 willbe described later.

The fixing frame 19 is a rectangular frame. The fixing frame 19 includesa front plate part 22 extending in the left-right direction, left andright side plate parts 23 extending from the front plate part 22rearward and upward (in FIG. 2 , only the right side plate part 23 isshown), and a rear plate part 24 extending in the left-right directionto connect rear end portions of the left and right side plate parts 23.

The hood 20 of the bracket 16 defines a field-of-view space S of thefront camera 11 (simply referred to as “the field-of-view space S”hereinafter). The field-of-view space S is a space for making the lightfrom the vehicle exterior space SP2 incident on the lens 13 of the frontcamera 11 and is provided on the rear side (vehicle inner side) of thefront window 6. The field-of-view space S is provided in a positioncorresponding to the opening 10 of the light shielding layer 9 of thefront window 6, and the light from the vehicle exterior space SP2 entersthe field-of-view space S through the opening 10.

The hood 20 includes left and right side wall portions 26 respectivelyextending downward from the left and right side plate parts 23 of thefixing frame 19, a bottom wall portion 27 connecting lower end portionsof the left and right side wall portions 26, and a rear wall portion 28extending rearward and downward from the rear plate part 24 of thefixing frame 19 and connecting rear upper end portions of the left andright side wall portions 26.

The left and right side wall portions 26 of the hood 20 define left andright side portions of the field-of-view space S, respectively. The leftand right side wall portions 26 are provided integrally with the fixingframe 19. The opposing interval between the left and right side wallportions 26 gradually becomes wider from the rear toward the front.

The bottom wall portion 27 of the hood 20 defines a lower portion of thefield-of-view space S. A front portion of the bottom wall portion 27opposes the front window 6 via an interval in the up-down direction. Theopposing interval between the front portion of the bottom wall portion27 and the front window 6 gradually becomes wider from the front towardthe rear. The lower portion of the camera main body 14 of the frontcamera 11 is mounted to the bottom wall portion 27 via a mountingmechanism (not shown in the drawings).

An upper surface of the bottom wall portion 27 is provided with a straylight suppressing structure 30 (also referred to as a stray light shield(SLS)) for suppressing stray light (reflection light) entering the lens13 of the front camera 11. For example, the stray light suppressingstructure 30 is configured by multiple ridges 31 arranged successivelyin the front-rear direction. Each ridge 31 extends linearly in theleft-right direction from a lower end portion of one of the left andright side wall portions 26 to a lower end portion of the other. Eachridge 31 has an inverted V-shaped cross section, for example.

Left and right side portions 27A of the bottom wall portion 27 areprovided integrally with the left and right side wall portions 26. Alaterally central portion 27B of the bottom wall portion 27 isdetachably fitted between the left and right side portions 27A of thebottom wall portion 27. On the lower surface of the laterally centralportion 27B of the bottom wall portion 27, a heater 33 for heating thefront window 6 is mounted. The heater 33 is constituted of multipleheating wires (not shown in the drawings). The heater 33 is positionedright above the lower portion of the camera main body 14 of the frontcamera 11.

The rear wall portion 28 of the hood 20 defines a rear upper portion ofthe field-of-view space S. The rear wall portion 28 is providedintegrally with the fixing frame 19. The rear wall portion 28 opposesthe rear portion of the bottom wall portion 27 via an interval in theup-down direction. The opposing interval between the rear wall portion28 and the rear portion of the bottom wall portion 27 gradually becomesnarrower from the front toward the rear. An incident aperture 35 isprovided between the rear end portion of the rear wall portion 28 andthe rear end portion of the bottom wall portion 27, and the light fromthe field-of-view space S is incident on the lens 13 of the front camera11 through the incident aperture 35.

Attachment Structure of Fixing Frame 19

Next, an attachment structure for attaching the fixing frame 19 to theinner surface 6A of the front window 6 will be described in detail.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the fixing frame 19 has an opposing surface41 that is substantially parallel to the inner surface 6A of the frontwindow 6. Note that in another embodiment, the opposing surface 41 maynot be substantially parallel to the inner surface 6A of the frontwindow 6. The opposing surface 41 may be a flat surface or may bepartially or wholly curved. The opposing surface 41 is attached to theinner surface 6A of the front window 6 via an adhesive 42. The adhesive42 is covered by the light shielding layer 9 of the front window 6 asseen from outside the vehicle. In other words, the adhesive 42 isprovided in a position that is not visible from outside the vehicle.

The opposing surface 41 of the fixing frame 19 includes a covered part43 and an exposed part 44. The covered part 43 is configured by an outersurface of a front portion of the front plate part 22, outer surfaces ofthe left and right side plate parts 23, and an outer surface of the rearplate part 24. The covered part 43 is covered by the light shieldinglayer 9 of the front window 6 as seen from outside the vehicle. In otherwords, the covered part 43 is provided in a position that is not visiblefrom outside the vehicle. The exposed part 44 is configured by an outersurface of a rear portion of the front plate part 22. The exposed part44 is provided in a position corresponding to the opening 10 of thelight shielding layer 9 of the front window 6 and is exposed from thelight shielding layer 9 as seen from outside the vehicle. In otherwords, the exposed part 44 is provided in a position that can be seenfrom outside the vehicle. The exposed part 44 extends in the left-rightdirection from the left edge to the right edge of the opening 10.

A front portion of the opposing surface 41 of the fixing frame 19 (aportion corresponding to the front plate part 22) is provided with asingle recess 47. The recess 47 extends linearly in the left-rightdirection at a position on a lower front side of the multiple ridges 31of the stray light suppressing structure 30. The width W of the recess47 is the same as the pitch P of the multiple ridges 31. However, inanother embodiment, the width W of the recess 47 may be wider than thepitch P of the multiple ridges 31 or narrower than the pitch P of themultiple ridges 31.

The laterally central portion of the recess 47 is provided on theexposed part 44 of the opposing surface 41. In other words, thelaterally central portion of the recess 47 is provided in a positionthat can be seen from outside the vehicle. The left and right endportions of the recess 47 both extend to the covered part 43 of theopposing surface 41. In other words, the recess 47 is continuous fromthe left end to the right end of the exposed part 44. Note that inanother embodiment, the entirety of the recess 47 may be containedwithin the range of the exposed part 44.

The fixing frame 19 is provided with a connection surface 48 thatconnects the exposed part 44 of the opposing surface 41 with the uppersurface of the bottom wall portion 27 of the hood 20 (namely, thesurface provided with the stray light suppressing structure 30). Therecess 47 is not provided on the connection surface 48. Therefore, theinterval between the front end ridge 31 and the recess 47 is wider thanthe pitch P of the multiple ridges 31.

Advantageous Effects

In the present embodiment, the opposing surface 41 of the fixing frame19 is provided with the recess 47 in a position visible from outside thevehicle. Thereby, it is possible to attach the opposing surface 41 tothe inner surface 6A of the front window 6 while visually checking theposition of the recess 47, and therefore, it is possible to prevent theattachment position of the bracket 16 on the inner surface 6A of thefront window 6 from deviating from the target position. Accordingly, itis possible to improve the positional accuracy of the bracket 16 and thefront camera 11 relative to the front window 6.

Further, the stray light suppressing structure 30 includes the multipleridges 31 arranged in the front-rear direction and extending in theleft-right direction, and the recess 47 extends in the left-rightdirection at a position on the lower front side of the multiple ridges31. Accordingly, uniformity of design of the stray light suppressingstructure 30 and the opposing surface 41 can be enhanced, whereby theappearance of the vehicle 1 can be improved.

In addition, the opposing surface 41 includes the exposed part 44provided in a position corresponding to the opening 10 of the lightshielding layer 9, and the laterally central portion of the recess 47 isprovided on the exposed part 44. Thereby, it is possible to attach theopposing surface 41 to the inner surface 6A of the front window 6 whilevisually checking the position of the recess 47 relative to the opening10 of the light shielding layer 9. Therefore, it is possible to moreeffectively prevent the attachment position of the bracket 16 on theinner surface 6A of the front window 6 from deviating from the targetposition.

Also, since the recess 47 is provided on the exposed part 44 asdescribed above, uniformity of design of the stray light suppressingstructure 30 and the exposed part 44 can be enhanced. Particularly, inthe present embodiment, the heater 33 is mounted on the lower surface ofthe bottom wall portion 27 of the hood 20, and the heater 33 ispositioned right above the lower portion of the camera main body 14 ofthe front camera 11. Due to this relationship, it is difficult todisplace the position of the bottom wall portion 27 of the hood 20downward, and accordingly, the front end portion of the bottom wallportion 27 of the hood 20 is provided at a relatively high position. Asa result, the width of the exposed part 44 in the up-down directionbecomes large and the exposed part 44 becomes more noticeable fromoutside the vehicle. Therefore, the effect of enhancing the uniformityof design of the stray light suppressing structure 30 and the exposedpart 44 as described above is high.

Also, the exposed part 44 extends in the left-right direction from theleft edge to the right edge of the opening 10, and the recess 47 iscontinuous from the left end to the right end of the exposed part 44.Thereby, the length of the recess 47 can be secured sufficiently, andtherefore, it is easy to visually check the position of the recess 47.

Further, the recess 47 can absorb the stress due to thermal expansion ofthe bracket 16. Therefore, it is possible to prevent reduction in theattachment strength between the opposing surface 41 and the innersurface 6A of the front window 6 due to thermal expansion of the bracket16. Also, by using the recess 47 as the marking part, the marking partcan be formed at relatively low cost.

Modifications

Referring to FIG. 4 , in a first modification of the above embodiment,the exposed part 44 of the opposing surface 41 is provided with multiplerecesses 51 (an example of a marking part). The multiple recesses 51 areprovided at intervals in a direction perpendicular to the left-rightdirection. The pitch P1 of the multiple recesses 51 is the same as thepitch P2 of the multiple ridges 31 of the stray light suppressingstructure 30. With such a configuration, uniformity of design of thestray light suppressing structure 30 and the opposing surface 41 can befurther enhanced, and therefore, the appearance of the vehicle 1 can befurther improved.

Further, referring to FIG. 4 , in the first modification of the aboveembodiment, not only the exposed part 44 of the opposing surface 41 isprovided with the multiple recesses 51 but also connection surface 48which connects the exposed part 44 of the opposing surface 41 with theupper surface of the bottom wall portion 27 of the hood 20 is providedwith multiple recesses 52. With such a configuration, it is possible toenhance uniformity of design of the stray light suppressing structure30, the opposing surface 41, and the connection surface 48, whereby theappearance of the vehicle 1 can be improved further.

Also, referring to FIG. 4 , in the first modification of the aboveembodiment, part of the adhesive 42 is exposed from the light shieldinglayer 9 as seen from outside the vehicle. In other words, part of theadhesive 42 is provided in a position that can be seen from outside thevehicle. In such a case, it is preferred that the adhesive 42 hastransparency. Thereby, even when the adhesive 42 is provided in aposition overlapping with the multiple recesses 51, it is possible tosufficiently see the multiple recesses 51 from outside the vehicle theadhesive 42. In addition, even if the adhesive 42 is seen from outsidethe vehicle, the appearance of the vehicle 1 is unlikely to be spoiled,and therefore, management of layout of the adhesive 42 is easy.

Referring to FIG. 5 , in a second modification of the above embodiment,instead of the recess 47, one or multiple projections 61 (an example ofthe marking part) are provided on the exposed part 44 of the opposingsurface 41. The projection 61 extends in the left-right direction and iscontinuous from the left end to the right end of the exposed part 44.With such a configuration, the projection 61 can reinforce the fixingframe 19, and therefore, the stiffness of the fixing frame 19 can beenhanced. As a result, deformation of the fixing frame 19 (particularly,flexing of the fixing frame 19 when the temperature of the fixing frame19 becomes high as in the summer) can be suppressed. Also, it ispossible to use, as the material of the bracket 16, an inexpensive resinmaterial having relatively low stiffness, and this can reduce the costfor the material of the bracket 16. Further, by using the projection 61as the marking part, the marking part can be formed at relatively lowcost.

Referring to FIG. 6 , in a third modification of the above embodiment,instead of the recess 47, one or multiple painted parts 71 (an exampleof the marking part) are provided on the exposed part 44 of the opposingsurface 41. The painted part 71 is painted with a color different fromthe color of the opposing surface 41. The painted part 71 extends in theleft-right direction and is continuous from the left end to the rightend of the exposed part 44. With such a configuration, it is possible toform the marking part without providing irregularities on the opposingsurface 41 itself. Therefore, it is possible to avoid complication ofthe structure of the bracket 16 due to formation of the marking part.Further, by using the painted part 71 as the marking part, the markingpart can be formed at relatively low cost.

In the present embodiment, the front camera 11 was shown as an exampleof the vehicle-mounted camera but in another embodiment, a rear cameraor a side camera (which are not shown in the drawings) can be an exampleof the vehicle-mounted camera.

Concrete embodiments of the present invention have been described in theforegoing, but the present invention is not limited to the aboveembodiments and may be modified or altered in various ways.

1. A camera holding structure for holding a vehicle-mounted camera,comprising: a window separating a vehicle interior space from a vehicleexterior space; and a holding member fixed to an inner surface of thewindow and holding the vehicle-mounted camera, wherein the holdingmember includes a fixing frame that is fixed to the inner surface of thewindow and a hood that protrudes from the fixing frame toward an insideof a vehicle and defines a field-of-view space of the vehicle-mountedcamera on a vehicle inner side of the window, and the fixing frame hasan opposing surface that opposes the inner surface of the window and isattached to the inner surface of the window, the opposing surface beingprovided with at least one marking part that is visible from outside thevehicle.
 2. The camera holding structure according to claim 1, whereinthe field-of-view space is provided on a rear side of the window, thehood includes left and right side wall portions respectively definingleft and right side portions of the field-of-view space and a bottomwall portion connecting lower end portions of the left and right sidewall portions and defining a lower portion of the field-of-view space,an upper surface of the bottom wall portion is provided with a straylight suppressing structure for suppressing stray light entering thevehicle-mounted camera, the stray light suppressing structure havingmultiple ridges arranged in a front-rear direction and extending in aleft-right direction, and the at least one marking part extends in theleft-right direction at a position on a lower front side of the multipleridges.
 3. The camera holding structure according to claim 2, whereinthe at least one marking part includes multiple marking parts arrangedat intervals in a direction perpendicular to the left-right direction,and a pitch of the multiple marking parts is same as a pitch of themultiple ridges.
 4. The camera holding structure according to claim 1,wherein the window includes a base material layer having transparencyand a light shielding layer superposed on a part of the base materiallayer and having transparency lower than that of the base materiallayer, the light shielding layer being provided with an opening forallowing light entering the field-of-view space to pass therethrough,the opposing surface includes a covered part covered by the lightshielding layer as seen from outside the vehicle and an exposed partprovided in a position corresponding to the opening and exposed from thelight shielding layer as seen from outside the vehicle, and at least apart of the at least one marking part is provided on the exposed part.5. The camera holding structure according to claim 4, wherein theexposed part extends in a left-right direction from a left edge to aright edge of the opening, and the at least one marking part iscontinuous from a left end to a right end of the exposed part.
 6. Thecamera holding structure according to claim 1, wherein the at least onemarking part includes a recess provided on the opposing surface.
 7. Thecamera holding structure according to claim 1, wherein the at least onemarking part includes a projection provided on the opposing surface. 8.The camera holding structure according to claim 1, wherein the at leastone marking part includes a painted part that is painted with a colordifferent from a color of the opposing surface.
 9. The camera holdingstructure according to claim 1, wherein the opposing surface is attachedto the inner surface of the window via an adhesive having transparency.